Nothing Else Matters
by niyrocks
Summary: A continuation of the story The Unforgiven, but with more fighting scenes, more thought, and more drama for your mama! REVIEW PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! NOW COMPLETE!
1. Nothing Else Matters

Goku sighed and easily dodged all of the kitchen utensils Chi-chi threw at him. The bath tub had broken when she was in it and apparently it was his fault. Her favorite vase flew over his head and shattered as it hit the wall behind him. Well, that must have been his fault too because his wife turned a bright red with anger and hurled things at him with a renewed effort.  
  
Goku sighed again, jumped over a chair and caught Chi-chi's arms. He pulled her into him and brashly kissed her on the mouth. Shocked, Chi- chi's resistance melted away as she fell into the full affect of Goku's kiss.  
  
"I'll get someone to come fix the bathroom, Chi-chi," Goku whispered. "Just know that I love you and besides that nothing else matters." He ran a hand through her hair and she shuffled so that her head leaned against his chest. He held her then and the moment reminded him of why life was such a blessing.  
  
And then he was reminded of why it was such a curse. Inside him, he felt Piccolo's power level sky-rocket. He also felt another power level rapidly ignite and blaze higher and higher, growing to his own limits and beyond. His body tensed as he recognized a smaller, more hidden power signal in the midst of it all.  
  
"What is it, Goku," asked Chi-chi when she felt his body tense against her.  
  
"The dead body we found was alive," Goku said. "And now I know it's powerful. I can feel it blazing from here." He looked down at her and he couldn't help but let a slight frown escape from his usually cheery expression.  
  
Twenty and some years of worry instantly lined Chi-chi's face. "Not another Cell I hope?"  
  
Goku's frown turned into a slight smile as he saw the rare care that occasionally showed through on his wife's face. "No, not another Cell," Goku said, "Just a loose end that needs tying up."  
  
Chi-chi stared hard into Goku's eyes. "Well, you better take care of it so you stay home for longer," she mumbled, barely over her breath.  
  
Goku stared at her, amazed, but didn't ask her to repeat what she just said. He just nodded, looked into her eyes for a minute, and ran out the door, leaving it open behind him.  
  
No alone, Chi-chi pulled out a chair to a kitchen table and slumped down into it. "Just come back to me, Goku," she said to herself. "You and Gohan are the only ones that matter to me."  
  
Gohan quietly closed his bedroom door and sank against it with a sigh. He smiled to himself, lucky to have parents who cared so much about each other. His eyes widened suddenly as an idea popped into his young head. He dove under his bead and found his fighting uniform. If his dad was going, he would probably help. Mom wanted him to come home, and Gohan was going to ensure just that.  
  
Studying at his desk, Gohan was distracted when his mom's storm of fury had suddenly halted into complete silence. He had watched his parents long enough to share their feelings of love and the sudden change of power levels. Now he pulled his last shoe on and opened the window. Hovering in the air, Gohan closed the window behind him and flew off in the direction of the high power levels. 


	2. Nothing Else Matters (Part 2)

Piccolo's evil glare seemed to be plastered to his face. The levels of loathing and hatred and pure disgust seemed to fester in his facial expression.  
  
"You want me to train that… thing," he sarcastically asked Niy as he pointed at Mia.  
  
The purple youth just blinked once, her lashes slowly sweeping over those innocent blue eyes as she clung to Niy's leg.  
  
Niy grimaced in distaste at the Namek's choice of words, but said, "I can tell you more than you ever wished to know, but Mia must be ready. This is as much as an inconvenience to me as it is to you, however; you are the best qualified for the job."  
  
Piccolo's eyes focused on Niy's face since he couldn't bring himself to face the child's eyes. "If you're so worried about her why don't you train her?"  
  
Niy frowned grew deeper as she hissed, "Because I must prepare someone else."  
  
"Great," Piccolo said, "So there's another one of you I don't know about?"  
  
"Perhaps," Niy spat, "And perhaps I'm just lying to you."  
  
Piccolo grumbled, looked at the kid's puppy dog blue eyes, and muttered, "Fine. I will train the brat." He crossed his arms, steadied his weight and in a stronger voice continued, "Tell me everything."  
  
Niy's eyes narrowed a little at his demanding tone of voice, but she recognized a fair bargain and said nothing. Instead, she decided to tell the truth, and cleared her throat.  
  
"The being coming to the planet is evil. And you will perish. He goes by the name of The Emperor and he has created an empire that is organized, well-trained, and made completely up of fighters. Some are weaker than you, but many are strong, and he is the strongest of all. He has a grand vision of controlling and unifying the universe so that he can become a god. I truly wonder if he already has."  
  
Niy closed her eyes as if some memory pained her, but her voice did not strain in the slightest and her story continued.  
  
"The Emperor conquers by the galaxies. He has select fighters known as the Emperor's Hand. They do all his dirty work for him with their massive power. What inhabitants that refuse his orders are killed, and planets that retaliate are blown to pieces. There is no question of right or wrong with the Emperor. There is just the Emperor. I know this because of someone you once knew. Dr. Gero, my creator was if nothing else a misguided scientist and an outstanding liar. Before he was recognized for his scientific prowess, he acted as a spy, a politician, a thief. Anything the Emperor ordered that would help Dr. Gero gain respect. He kidnapped Mia from her home planet Relia and used her as blackmail to gain the power of the planet Relia's monarchy. She is the princess of the planet, which made her a potential hostage. It is some dark twist of fate that gave her into my hands. But enough. Now she is in yours. When the Emperor comes we will join forces with him and become part of his Hand. It is the only way we can survive and Mia must be trained enough before then."  
  
Piccolo gaped in astonishment. This, this female hadn't backed down an inch from him during the fight. She hadn't lost her composure or her cool and he had been horrified at the depth of her power. And this freak fighter was giving up, sweating, admitting defeat right before his eyes?  
  
She turned her back to him as if ashamed she had to admit she was weaker. Niy, however, was anything but stupid. She knew when she was outmatched. She stopped patting Mia's head and turned her head slowly toward Piccolo saying in a stronger tone, "But Mia is not ready and neither am I. Dr. Gero made another like me and I must prepare her to leave this planet if only for the sake we were made by the same creator. In reality I am doing you a favor. This being, however, is not a Namek like me. She is a Saiyan."  
  
Piccolo stared at her, wide-eyed. A female Saiyan. Oh Kami, not another Vegeta.  
  
"That's where you are wrong, freak,' a harsh voice taunted from in front of Niy's turned head. "Kakorrat, his son, my son, and I are the only Saiyans still alive. But I will be the first to show you the true power of the Saiyan race."  
  
Vegeta and all of his ego sneered at Niy's frustrated glare. The devil, Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans, had arrived. 


	3. Nothing Else Matters (Part 3)

Vegeta gave his best one-sided smile to Niy and she scowled at his arrogance. He eyed the youth at Niy's side and frowned. Two unexpected visitors. If there were two there would be more.  
  
"Where did this piece of trash come from," Vegeta tauntingly asked Piccolo.  
  
Piccolo snarled in reply and re-crossed his arms, in a stubborn silence.  
  
He looked her up and down and his mind made a connection. She looked like something he recognized. Someone he knew. With a frown he said, "You're a female Namek." He looked at her red hair and his frown grew deeper. "No you're not." He saw her hard, cold blue eyes. "You're an android," he hissed in disgust. Preparing to gather his power, he shouted, "It's time to meet your maker, android!"  
  
"She's not an android," the youth at her side said in a low tone that seemed to pierce the air. "She is Niy, and I wouldn't talk to her like that if I were you."  
  
Niy smiled and stared at Vegeta as she gave the child a couple quick strokes across the top of her head. Vegeta stopped, very unsure of what to do next and the fact he was unsure made his anger start to simmer.  
  
"You are wrong, Vegeta," Niy replied, in a mocking tone. "There is another Saiyan left in this world. She is like me in the respect that she has been far perfected from the savage genes you're made up of and far more powerful as well."  
  
Vegeta stood shaking in anger. "You push me to my limits freak. How is it you know my name and what other foolishness do you speak of?! There are no other Saiyans. Kakorrat and I were the last! Nothing can change that fool!"  
  
"I have been bred to know your name, your age, and your 'limits' as you so put it and what I speak of is not foolishness. If you want you can help me uncover her. She would be your biggest challenge. Just know one thing, Vegeta- your limits are not hers and they are far underneath mine."  
  
Vegeta clenched his fists in hatred, but his Saiyan mind had caught a scent of honor hanging in the wind, and this new "Saiyan" seemed a promising victory, a secret vow for a powerful fight- a perfect time to grow his own ki onto a level beyond Kakorrat's. Still he growled as he answered, "Fine, I will find this thing without a name and I will fight her and destroy here."  
  
Niy just smirked. The youth besides her looked up and smiled a more innocent smile. They both were amused.  
  
Piccolo took a step into the fray. "Vegeta, you don't know what you're getting into. I advise you to…"  
  
"Shut-up Namek," Vegeta exclaimed as he glared at the Namek, "Your advice never meant anything to me, so why would it now?!"  
  
Piccolo slightly frowned, but shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "It's your funeral," he replied.  
  
"Piccolo," Niy said slowly, "I can tell you more of the details later, but right now you have a promise to keep and I have a responsibility.  
  
She watched as Piccolo barely nodded his chin. Smiling smugly, she gently stepped away from Mia. The child walked toward Piccolo in three quiet small steps.  
  
Niy smiled again and without warning blasted into the air towards the direction of Dr. Gero's old lab.  
  
Vegeta swore, called upon his ki, and shot in the air after her. Piccolo was left with the eerily quiet child, and he looked at her curiously. Her eyes seemed to soak everything in. She was quiet, she hid her quick, darting intelligence well, and she had a steel expression that Piccolo had never before seen in a child and it chilled him.  
  
"So, what do you know," Piccolo asked warily.  
  
The alien youth blinked once with her lilac eyelids and white lashes before replying, "I know… to never be afraid. Fear is for the weak."  
  
Piccolo smiled suddenly, as he became amused. Fear let us know our limits, and without fear, that meant that Niy was extremely overconfident. Through Mia he could recognize and know Niy's weaknesses. Through Mia he had a second chance to create someone in to his own image- the person he was before he had turned soft. His smile grew darker more evil, but if it scared the girl the slightest bit it didn't show on her blank face.  
  
"I have much to teach you, little one, so pay attention. I will only show you once…" 


	4. Nothing Else Matters (Part 4)

Goku flew with a slight smile. The wind whipping in his face, he remembered and loved how simple and grand and wonderful life was. Sure he could have used his instant transmission, but simple pleasures like flying were the best.  
  
Something in his mind suddenly pinged and Goku's smile was left in the wind behind him. He felt Vegeta's ki, raw and roaring, zoom far away across his path and near that he felt a ki that burned with evil on the outside but was frozen into something unbreakable on the inside. Niy. There was no other ki signature like it. It had to be her. Goku frowned now, as his mind quickly made up its decision. With a burst of ki, he traveled in their trail. He could tell they weren't fighting, so there was no real need to rush. Hell, Vegeta wasn't even in Super-Saiyan yet. Goku's eyebrows furrowed deeper into his Saiyan brow. He didn't like it. Vegeta had no idea what he was getting himself into. And the worst part, Goku told himself, was that he knew Vegeta didn't care.  
  
* * *  
  
Vegeta hated to be in anyone's dust and he scowled as that Niy creature always blasted in the air ahead of him fast enough so he couldn't keep up without wasting all of his power. But Vegeta wasn't stupid, he new that conserving energy before a fight with an unknown enemy was the smart thing to do. He knew she was taunting him and he would not show any weakness to this freak. He knew he was her superior anyways. No one could match his power. No one, except Kakorrat.  
  
He growled in irritation at the thought, but its significance blazed in his mind. If he could beat this other freak of nature, this yet unnamed foe of his, based off of his own Saiyan blood nonetheless, it would be one very large step in dominating Kakorrat totally. And then, then, he would truly live up to the Prince of Saiyans he was born to be.  
  
Then Vegeta smiled ruthlessly, saying, "Kakorrat will be nothing." He was so self-absorbed in thought, that he hadn't noticed Niy had stopped ahead of him and he almost overran her before he jerked to a stop.  
  
"What are you so happy about," Niy sneered at him. "You're going to die here in a few minutes and you're smiling like a bloody fool. Even I expected more than that out of you, Saiyan."  
  
Vegeta growled as his rage roared inside him. But in spite of it all, he didn't try to attack Niy. She already proved herself to be so far beneath him.  
  
Niy sighed exasperatedly and said, "Well if you're going to be like that, then I hope you do die. It would save this world from another pitiful fool," she mumbled.  
  
Vegeta didn't have time to make his retort because Niy shot down towards the land under her, jerked to a stop inches before it, and gracefully stepped down to the rubble that remained of Dr. Gero's laboratory. Vegeta, not wanting to be outdone, landed in his own fashion, leaving a crater around his footprints as he landed.  
  
He barely had to time to react when Niy said, "You better protect yourself." She stuck out her hand and in one giant blinding blast of light disintegrated the feet of dirt beneath her and Vegeta in the breath of the next second. He barely had time to cover his head with his arms. As the dust cleared and Vegeta stopped coughing on it, his eyes caught Niy's impatient waving hand.  
  
"Hurry up," she said, not even bothering to look at him, "This way." And with that, she jumped into the newly formed tunnel of scorched rock.  
  
Vegeta dug his hands so hard into his clenched fists that he hurt himself. It didn't really matter though, he was too angry to care. With what ever shred of patience remained in him, some signal from his brain connected and Vegeta jumped into the deep tunnel.  
  
Vegeta landed into a room of rusted metal and broken glass. He didn't care, he had seen it all before. Except the secret door which Niy opened now. With a silent smoldering anger he followed Niy and looked down the stairs. From some unknown source of power, lights flickered to life. He followed the freak down the stairs, never getting too close and never trailing too far away. Experience had taught him to be wary.  
  
The stairs were short and in front of him, and as he reached the bottom he saw the giant glass cylinder and the being of life. He gaped at astonishment as the woman floated in the nurturing water of her cage. No one had said his foe would have beauty! 


	5. Nothing Else Matters (Part 5)

Vegeta's eyes caught a slight movement and he watched Niy as she pierced a straight hand in to the glass and liquid of the adult human-sized test tube. The fluid oozed out and the body along with the several tubes that connected it sagged and crumpled to the base of the cylinder. Niy broke the remaining glass with a single swing of her arm and hopped onto the cylinder's platform. She ripped the breathing and sustaining tubes from the body and shook the naked female body until it gasped for a breath of air. This weak and frail being was his foe? It seemed rather pathetic.  
  
He could see Niy shift the weakling's weight so that it sat up with the strength of Niy's right arm to keep it up. With her other arm, Niy pointed a finger at the body and a flash of light blinded Vegeta for a second, but when he adjusted his eyes he could see the weakling's body was clothed in Saiyan armor, boots gloves, and a black jumpsuit underneath. He could tell she was breathing by the way her shiny orange hair reflected the light in steady patterns. He noticed her eyelids flicker and creep open and focus on Niy. He saw the brilliant blue and the shards of gray in her irises still and then shrink as she focused onto Niy's figure.  
  
Niy held her loosely and in anything but a compassionate position. In fact, she just looked down at her objective blankly, never suspecting what was to come next.  
  
In the second Vegeta blinked, he caught the image of Rezan's body suddenly tensing. When his eye refocused he saw a cloud of dust and an impression in the steel wall that Niy had just been punched into. At first, Vegeta had thought Niy must have dodged the punch, but then he saw a curly tendril of red hair rise and grow into Niy's figure from behind a pile of equipment. She rubbed the left side of her face roughly and scowled angrily. Vegeta smiled at her weakness.  
  
"What are you smiling at," a pointed voice asked him. Vegeta shifted his focus. He saw the weakling get up on her own and stretch her muscles easily. "You're next."  
  
Vegeta snarled, "Like you could-… …aaaaaaaa." Rezan knocked the air out of him with her right knee in his gut. He sank to the dusty floor, clutching his abdomen, gasping for air.  
  
"You should learn to close your mouth if all that comes out is sewage," Rezan teased. She smiled the cocky Saiyan one-sided smile and pushed his head up with her pointer finger. "I smell the scent of a woman on you, Vegeta. Tell me, does she know your weaknesses? It fills me with disgust to think that someone as pathetic as you would be deemed a protector."  
  
Vegeta's breathing turned into panting and his panting turned into heaving breaths of rage and uncontrollable emotion. He roared his rage and it echoed for miles around him. His rage summoned his power and in a catching instant, he transformed into the might of a Super-Saiyan. But he didn't stop there. He called on all his power and went to the next level. His golden hair crystallized upwards into straight shards of light. His pupils disappeared and the rest of his eyes glowed white. The Earth and man-made objects dissolved into nothing around Vegeta and the mountain the lab was hidden in was leveled into a plateau.  
  
Next to him, Rezan laughed evilly and stood confidently next to him, barely two inches shorter than he. "You want to see power? I'll show you power!"  
  
Vegeta suddenly felt queasy, like his stomach was flattening, and then his body started to tremble. The earth began to quake and to roar and crumble and roll and reshape it self into a hideous scar of a crater. Vegeta's jaw dropped then and he realized what was really happening. Rezan was powering up to a level far beyond Super-Saiyan and she wasn't even a Super-Saiyan. Rezan's pupils disappeared and her eyes glowed a menacing red as she shrieked with the power of her ki. When she again noticed Vegeta's form, she laughed loud and evilly. She flung her hands over her head, and with an impeccable focus, drove her energy into a giant orb that floated right above her raised finger-tips. Her deadly smile drastically sank into a sinister sneer as she shouted, "REHAN-HA!!!" She flung her hands downward and the light of her ki exploded from her hands in a column of pure energy. Vegeta did not have time to dodge or block the glowing monstrosity and his last visible look was one of horror as he was engulfed by Rezan's blaze. The dusty clouds engulfed the fighting field and for five minutes the sunlight was too weak to pierce through the gloom. But after those five minutes of terror, the sun wormed its way in and all that remained of Vegeta was a singed and bloody body that had turned to fight a new foe- death. 


	6. Nothing Else Matters (Part 6)

Niy watched the dust part like a giant curtain as the main actor, Rezan, stood triumphant and smiling above Vegeta's unmoving carcass. The female Saiyan kicked Vegeta's body and it flew a few hundred feet deeper into the crater. The way his body oddly slumped into an unnatural position in the dust below her gave her an unexpected pleasure. She wanted more blood. Much more.  
  
"How sad," Niy's voice lowly cut through the heavy silence, "I thought he would have had more of a chance."  
  
"He was a weakling," the blue-eyed Saiyan replied. "Nothing much can be expected of the weak."  
  
"I can't say I disagree." Niy replied, eyeing her acquaintance cautiously. She hadn't forgotten the blackish bruise on the side of her face.  
  
Rezan's eyes narrowed on the female green thing ahead of her and tried to detect a power level. "I know every worthy fighter on this planet, but I haven't any knowledge on you."  
  
Niy smiled slightly. "That's because you're trying to hard to measure my power. If you stepped back a bit, you'd realize it was right in front of you."  
  
Rezan frowned, but mentally did what Niy suggested and then she did discover Niy's level of ki. It has high. Unnaturally high. Rezan licked her lips. What an appetizing circumstance she had found herself in. She had found a worthy rival without even trying.  
  
Niy frowned, as if she could read Rezan's thoughts. "You know the only reason I came here and woke you up was because there is a greater power coming, a power greater than you and I put together. I am here to offer you the one chance to survive."  
  
Rezan smiled, amused. This freak had just seen her beat up that weakling and the freak was offering her help? "Ha, that's a good one. You and I both know that I am the most powerful being on this planet. I'll just destroy this 'greater power'. Nothing can stand in my way."  
  
Niy's eyes narrowed. "Don't be foolish. You are lucky I even bothered to come here. I came for the sake that we were both made by the same creator, but if you're going to share the same idiotic arrogance as he did, then you can die as he did- by my hand."  
  
Rezan frowned. This pest annoyed her. "I don't need your pity or your skepticism. Do you think I feel threatened by you? If I felt like it, you could be sharing the same pain as that weakling right now," Rezan threatened, pointing at the location of Vegeta's sprawled form.  
  
Niy closed her eyes and shook her head in disgust. "You just don't get it do you? The 'greater power' is called the Emperor. When he comes to this planet, and he is coming, he will leave nothing behind that will not give into to his might. You will die. The only way to keep living is to join the Emperor's Hand, his fighting force. His power is hundreds of times greater than you or I. Any inhabitants in his wake will become mindless idiots under his control. This world has no hope."  
  
Rezan smiled. "You sound afraid, freak. I thought you weren't as pathetic as the weakling I fought before but you are even weaker."  
  
Niy snarled in rage, "Well, if you aren't going to join us then you are going to be a problem, and all problems have a solution." Niy crouched into a fighting position. "Maybe it's time I solved you," she said, tensing her muscles and getting ready to power up.  
  
Rezan tossed a few strands of her glittering orange hair back over her shoulder where it hung limply in a long ponytail that brushed the back of her legs. She smiled at the green freak and looked at her with hungry eyes. "It seems you have a stronger constitution than I thought, freak. You won't have to worry about the Emperor, because you won't survive to see him arrive."  
  
"My name is Niy, and I am not a freak, bitch," Niy spat angrily.  
  
"Testy, testy," Rezan said smiling. "I am Rezan, the cause of your entry into the next dimension."  
  
"I know," Niy smiled evilly, "Dr. Gero programmed me with knowledge of you. It's too bad you are so incomplete."  
  
Rezan scowled and fluidly sank into her fighting position. Her pupils narrowed considerably, making her seem more like a mad animal than a thinking being.  
  
Niy sniffed and wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something grotesque coming from Rezan.  
  
Rezan grinned like a cat, with just as menacing as a glare.  
  
Niy's eyes narrowed like a snakes, and her tongue darted in and out between her fangs. They both were waiting for the moment to strike, and once it flew by there would be no holding back. 


	7. Nothing Else Matters (Part 7)

Goku peered at the women from his position in a hidden crevice between the crater wall and a boulder that had somehow survived the previous battle. He had heard everything and he didn't like on bit of it. All he could think of was Chi-chi and Gohan and the rest of his family being eaten by this shadow called the Emperor, and it sent chills down his spine. For once in his eventful life, Goku realized that his power wasn't high enough. Goku felt despair.  
  
He looked over to where Vegeta lay and thought of going and retrieving his body, but he decided against it. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself. As long as the other two didn't blow up the earth, he didn't care what happened. If they wanted to bash each other's brains out then Goku wasn't in any mood to try to stop them.  
  
Niy and Rezan stared at each other with a tension so thick that a knife would have shattered if it tried to cut through it. As a rolling gentle breeze sifted and stirred the dust, Niy felt it swell and slowly dissipate. Inside her a red line pinged and as Goku's eyes blinked he found that Niy had disappeared. When he looked for Rezan, he found that she had disappeared as well. Focusing his eyes in they way any fighter did when watching a fight, Goku's sight only picked up blurs and swishes of missed punches and dodged kicks. They were moving so fast that even he couldn't see them!  
  
He refocused on the green swirling figure of Niy and watched as she did a perfect tumbling flip to the ground. Rezan fell to the earth and let the ground cushion her drastic fall. Both fighters looked at each other angrily. Neither had turned out to be what the other expected. Both now had grudgingly raised their expectations of each other.  
  
"Enough of this," the female Namek hissed. "We both have another level to reach, and I think it's about time we got there."  
  
"That's fine with me," Rezan howled. "It's no sweat off my back if you want to die sooner."  
  
Niy roared in anger and half in pain. She felt the burning of her ki electrify her senses and increase her strength a million fold. Her flaming aura claimed the territory of the crater and went beyond it. Rezan responded in the same fashion, and soon the red aura of Niy and the yellow aura of Rezan sizzled and sparked as the breached each other's flames of ki.  
  
"I'll defeat you like I did that Saiyan weakling," Rezan snarled, raising her arms above her head and focusing her energy above her fingertips.  
  
Niy responded by shoving her hands beneath her and summoned her power to flow beneath her fingertips.  
  
Rezan smiled her awful Saiyan one-sided smile, lowered her arms, and shouted, "REHAN-HA!!!"  
  
Niy, totally in focus, knowing not to let her emotions be the cause of her actions, swung her arms and hands out in front of her and shouted, "NEHAN- HA!!!"  
  
Two ki blasts of equal strength crashed into each other and Rezan's cock- eyed smile was instantaneously blown away. Rezan pushed for control, grabbing more of her power she blasted her ki more forcefully at Niy.  
  
Niy grunted feeling the strength rush at her and pushed it back even more of her ki. There was no way she was going to let Rezan win.  
  
Rezan felt the massive strength of the battling balls of ki push her back, and decided enough was enough. She called on every bit, every last fiber of power in her body, and the result was tremendous. Her ki swelled into a ball at least fifty times Niy's size and Niy's eyes widened, astonished at her power. Niy, however, was stubborn to the end. She too called upon every last shred of ki into her body, and willed it through her hands and at her enemy.  
  
Niy's ki exploded into a ball of glowing fire that matched Rezan's ball of power in size and strength. The powers amounted to something beyond mere mortality. It was like watching an act of a god.  
  
Goku instant transmitted himself to Vegeta, hoping the great powers would block any signal of ki from him and it worked. Once there he hoisted Vegeta's still form inside his right arm and instant transmitted himself to his original hiding place behind the boulder. If Vegeta and Goku had any hope for survival then they had to be sheltered.  
  
The twin powers of Niy and Rezan swirled and dove into one another, until something gave. The explosion of ki resulted in a flash of light that was seen in a 1000 mile perimeter and a giant roll of thunder that transformed into and earthquake that rolled and ricocheted around the earth until it simply ran out of gas and things to bounce off of.  
  
Goku closed his eyes, covered Vegeta's body with his own and prayed. He felt shards of rock twist and snip through his skin and he coughed and tried to get some amount of air through the thick dust. When he finally felt the dust clear, and was able to breathe, he felt for Vegeta's pulse and mumbled thanks to someone that the fool was still alive. Then he pushed the rubble that covered the opeing to the crevice and looked around. His heart sank and a look of great sorrow passed the adult Saiyan's face. For hundreds of miles there was only rubble, dirt, and dust. And where Niy and Rezan were, there was deep depressions in rock and mountains of boulders, most a hundred times the size of him. 


	8. Nothing Else Matters (Part 8)

A mountain of boulders trembled and rocks and dust fell in a giant cloud-ring of dirt. Rezan panted, crawling out of her coffin of earth, and lay on her side totally wasted. She laughed load and crude and almost ridiculous. She had won. The mighty Rezan had won and conquered all. Her laughter filled the valley and made Goku's ears ring.  
  
The mountain next to her shook and crumbled as a white light shot from its center. Niy stood up, the shadow of her body the only distinguishing thing from the white light that blazed and connected the earth to the sky. The rocks that once covered Niy shot from her surroundings and pelted Rezan until she was bloody and bruised and her left arm was broken. Rezan shouted in pain, and she struggled into a standing position. Rezan couldn't fail. She wouldn't lose. Rezan would fight to the end. Rezan raised her right arm and clenched it into action.  
  
The black figure of Niy pointed at Rezan. "You think you can force a place greater than this world," a hollow voice said.  
  
Goku peered from behind the rock and gaped. He had felt this power before. This was Earth, and it now had a voice- Niy was its Champion.  
  
The figure's eyes flamed eerily into a sparkling white. "I am this world," the voice echoed mightily around Rezan's struggling body, "and you are part of me whether you like it or not." The shadow's eyes flashed and Rezan's eyes glowed with the same white light. With one last cry of pain and rebellion, Rezan fell face first into the earth, body convulsing.  
  
The white light around Niy dissipated and Niy clutched herself, feeling frozen. She fell, but managed to stagger to a sitting position. Her body convulsed in panic and she couldn't stop shivering. For all of her strength, Niy could never be sure again of whom she was.  
  
* * *  
  
"Again, do it again," Piccolo growled at Mia. "Fighting is not a dance; it is your only chance to survive!" He went to punch the Relian that was ¾ his size and she twirled out of his way with her open wings, her light weight, and a grace all Relians were born with.  
  
She stared him in the eye and her lips slightly formed into a frown. "I am not dancing, I am fighting Piccolo." He went to kick her in her stomach but she lightly side-stepped it and did a cartwheel to avoid his attack.  
  
"Quit backing away and fight like your existence actually means something!" Piccolo flipped and used his nails to tear rips into Mia's grey leathery wings. She yelled in pain and looked ferociously at Piccolo, glaring into his eyes.  
  
"That's it, use your anger, take the offensive," Piccolo said while he sank into his fighting pose and made a motion with his hand. "Bring it on," he hissed.  
  
Mia sucked in a deep breath and let her voice loose. A siren of pure sound waves exploded from her mouth and Piccolo hurriedly covered his sensitive ears. He yelled, trying to block out her voice with his, and he felt slight warmth from his blood dribble onto his hands and down the rest of his face. The force of the sound knocked him back and through a temple wall. Mia, out of air, stopped her screaming and took in a quick breath as she shot after Piccolo. She went to strike her talons into his eyes, but he caught both of her wrists with both of his hands.  
  
"When Relians' wings are torn they don't heal correctly," she spat at him, making sure to get in his face. "The tears leave hideous scars and the wings never work at the same efficiency. Would you like that to happen, to say, your ears?"  
  
Piccolo grunted, tightened his grip, and swung Mia against a wall. Her body smacked against and slumped to the ground. Piccolo stood up and smiled.  
  
"Go right ahead and try bat-ling, what we Nameks can't fix we can cut off and regenerate."  
  
Mia lurched herself to her feet, not feeling at all like doing the graceful flips she did before. "What Relians can't beat one second," she mumbled lowly, "We adapt to the next." Mia's head jerked upwards and she moaned in pain as her wings began to tremble, and shrink as her back seemed to absorb them into her body. Piccolo watched in surprise as she grew to meet his height and her wings totally disappeared.  
  
Piccolo's eyes narrowed. "You made yourself to be my equal."  
  
Mia smiled, thinking she had made a right move.  
  
"You are a fool," Piccolo, growled. Mia's mouth opened in surprise. "You must strive to make your advantages stronger than your opponents!" He slapped Mia across her cheek and knocked a wind out of her with a punch to her gut. "I know how I fight," he shouted at her as he kicked her out onto the tiled floor of Kami's temple. "And I know my weaknesses," he snarled, digging his claws into her lilac skin. She cried out sharply in pain. "And I know how to make them my strengths," he stated, choking Mia with the strong grip of his hand around her neck. "But the most important thing," Piccolo said in a lowered tone as he let Mia's limp body hang from his outstretched arm, "Is that I know when and when not to use them." And with that he released Mia's quivering form and let her take a shaky breath.  
  
"But isn't it. isn't it weak. isn't it wrong. isn't it a failure. to let your enemy live," Mia gasped, clutching her aching throat.  
  
The Namek smiled evilly and replied with confidence, "Sometimes death is too kind of a gift to give. Why do you think I let Goku live? Because I'm his friend?!" Piccolo laughed heartily.  
  
Mia looked up at the Namek's face and set a solid expression on her face. She would beat him. She would beat him. Once she knew his secrets, she would win. Yes, she would win. For Niy's sake, she would win. 


	9. Nothing Else Matters (Part 9)

"Niy admires you, you know," Mia said lowly, frowning as she circled around Piccolo.  
  
Piccolo just stood there and lowly growled, ready for Mia's attack.  
  
"She knows that the part of the reason Earth still exists today is because you were here to defend it," Mia said before the Namek narrowed his eyes in anger.  
  
"The Great and Evil Piccolo who once sent shivers into people's hearts not makes them melt. I can read your mind like an open book, Piccolo."  
  
Piccolo hissed in rage as Mia spoke his most hated fault, never minding the fact that she had pried into Earth's strongest psychic. He charged at Mia, but she easily grabbed his arm and used his own momentum to toss him out of the way.  
  
"I can sense your guilt, Piccolo. You blame it on Goku, but the real reason you are so soft is because of another face close to him. Dare I say his name?"  
  
Piccolo pounded the tile floor so hard with his fists in anger as he lay across it that for a few seconds all of Kami's lookout vibrated violently. He jumped to his feet and spat a giant blast of ki from deep inside his throat. Mia's wings suddenly splurged from her back and she dodged the blast by circling around it in flight.  
  
"You think Gohan made you soft?" Mia shouted, charging at Piccolo and knocking him aside with a giant slap of her great leathery wing. "You made yourself soft. Your soul is weak, Piccolo. The evil you had once hardened it, making it almost invincible, almost immortal. The love you have for Gohan undid what you spent years of work hardening and toning." Mia swirled around him using the long talons on her wings, hands, and feet to cut him in a tornado of slashing and slicing green flesh. He yelled in pain and his body jerked as each violent stab caused his body to spin and fly in different directions. "It is your caring, Piccolo," Mia said as she grabbed his limp neck and lifted his sagging body up with her arm, poised to make one last slice across his neck, "That will kill you."  
  
"You are wrong," Piccolo growled deep inside of his throat as his eyes flashed and two laser beams of key burned into Mia's soft cheek. She screamed as she brought her hands up to her face, letting Piccolo drop to the ground. He struggled, but he successfully got his blood-drenched body to stand firmly on the tiled floor. "A heart is a muscle just like the meat of your arms and legs," Piccolo hissed as he kicked Mia in the abs and lifted and through her body into the floor. "And like any muscle, it must be strengthened and trained to be of any use." He jabbed his foot hard into her knee and Mia cried at the sound of a sickening crack and she knew something inside of her was no broken. "Gohan taught me that," Piccolo said quietly. "Before I encountered him, my heart was hard, but it was shriveled and puny and I was weak. But training with him and Goku showed me the power I had forsaken. I grew stronger, much stronger." Piccolo lifted up Mia by her broken leg as Mia screeched and cried in pain. "And if you ask me, that's the reason Vegeta will never be as powerful as Goku. His heart is too weak. The only reason Niy won't stand up to this Emperor is because her heart is too weak." The Namek used his other hand and twisted Mia's ankle until it crunched sickeningly, leaving her in so much pain all she could do was whimper softly in response. "And you're the same way," he snarled, effortlessly flinging her battered body across the cracked floor.  
  
Mia felt tears swell and roll down her flinching, tense face as she lay sprawled on the ground. Her heart wasn't weak. Niy cared for her, like her mom. So Niy must love her, right? Mia wasn't alone as long as she had Niy. Niy must love her. And Niy wanted her to win. Niy always won. Mia wanted so badly to win for Niy, to prove that she could live up to Niy's expectations. Mia felt inside her an urge; an urge to grow, to be bigger, to be wiser, and to be stronger. It was so strong that her mind focused on only that one thought, and her body began to change.  
  
Piccolo rapidly covered his eyes as a blinding white light shot from Mia's body. He squinted his eyes, and focused on her shadowed figure. He watched her body become much taller and longer. Her talons narrowed and spread. Her body thinned, and her chest grew into a blossoming bosom. Her wings flattened and grew to compensate her much taller size. Her face once round and child-like lengthened and matured before his eyes. The light flashed away as it had come, and before him Piccolo gaped as he saw Mia- the 7' 10" adult version get up.  
  
"Hello, Piccolo," the deeper-throated Mia spoke. Everything about her seemed to have changed, but Piccolo still noticed the same glimmer of innocence in those same crystal blue eyes. "It seems you were wrong," she said getting up, her leg perfectly healed. "My heart must be strong, because I have just gotten stronger."  
  
"You're only deluding yourself," he snarled, actually looking up into the taller Mia's eyes. "Niy doesn't love you," he said, purposefully reading her mind, "You're just a minion to her, a slave. You're just going along for the ride because she doesn't want to ride alone."  
  
Mia frowned, and Piccolo thought it was the most marring expression he had ever seen. "She does love me," she shouted, enraged. "And I don't need to prove it to a selfish bastard like you!" She sprang off of her feet with a subtle step and throttled herself full speed at the Namek.  
  
* * *  
  
"Niy, are you okay," Goku shouted as he crawled out of his hiding place with Vegeta's body over his shoulder.  
  
Niy's focus instantly darted to Goku as soon as she had heard the first note of his voice, and after noticing it was just him, gathered control of herself by exhaling her anxiety.  
  
"I'm fine," she said, centering her mind in on herself, making sure all of her was there in her consciousness. "I've won."  
  
"Yeah," Goku said, "That was a very impressive fight. You reached levels of power I haven't begun to reach for yet."  
  
Niy eyed Rezan's figure and watched as her orange, now dusty hair, wavered slightly in the light breeze.  
  
Goku furrowed his eyebrows. "From what I hear of the Emperor, I don't think he would appreciate it too much if you couldn't keep a steady control of your powers."  
  
Niy's eyes widened as she realized he had spoken her deepest fears aloud.  
  
"All this preparation to join his side. .it would all be a waste," Goku said.  
  
Saddened, Niy frowned, closed her eyes, and lowered her head. She could feel the truth ring from his words and it vibrated hurtfully in her ear.  
  
Goku put his empty hand onto her shoulder, even though she was taller than him by a couple inches. "You have so much power and you have so much you could teach us. You are Earth's only hope of survival. I'm asking this not because I think it so little, because I know how great it is, to save the world and all, but we really need your help. Please help to defend this planet from the Emperor. The planet needs you."  
  
Niy opened her mind and let the thoughts plunge into her head. She wanted so badly to stand there and argue with him, but to do so would be to fall into self-delusion. Instead she opened her eyes and stared into his. His eyes were big and black and she saw a willingness to listen and learn and grow and give. It humbled her in a strange way to look at him like this and she immediately moved her focus away, guiltily.  
  
"We will wait for your son to come, and then we will begin the training," Niy mumbled, bending over to throw Rezan's body over her shoulders.  
  
Goku blanked and then felt the familiar signal of his son's ki come closer with each second. Goku smiled. "Thank you," he said to Niy.  
  
Niy's face was in a blank expression, but she acknowledged his gratitude with a blink of her eyes and turned to wait for Gohan. 


	10. Nothing Else Matters (Part 10)

Gohan flew slowly and cautiously as he stared at the giant crater beneath him. It humbled him to see the proof that powers greater than he live and walked in the universe. When his father was in sight, he could see him and must have been the loose end his dad was talking about standing next to each other waiting for him. With a surprised expression, Gohan landed a few feet in front of his father.  
  
"What's going on here, Dad," Gohan asked cautiously. "Is she what I think she is," Gohan asked, recognizing Niy's green skin.  
  
"There's a new bad guy, much much worse than Cell heading for the earth, Gohan," Goku responded in a fatherly tone. "And Niy," he said, pointing at her, "Is going to help us train and defeat him."  
  
"Yes, I'm a female Namek, Gohan, and no there aren't supposed to be. I was created by Dr. Gero, and no, I am not an android. I was created before them; I'm one hundred percent organic," Niy said slowly. "The evil being that's coming here is called the Emperor and he's made it his job to rule the universe. He wants to take over Earth, and Goku's asked me to help you guys stop him." Niy stopped and looked at Goku and they found each other looking into each others eyes.  
  
Niy held his gaze for a minute, felt that same awkward humble-ness and dropped her gaze. "If you want to even have a hope of winning we're going to have to begin training immediately," she murmured just barely loudly enough for Gohan to hear.  
  
Gohan mentally chewed on these new thoughts and eyed the limp figure on Niy's shoulder. "Who is that," he asked, pointing at Rezan.  
  
"She's a creation of Dr. Gero, too, Gohan. She's like me, except she's a female Saiyan," Niy answered, the tone of her voice stronger now.  
  
"And she's the reason Vegeta is over my shoulder," Goku said smiling a Saiyan one-sided smile.  
  
"And I defeated Rezan," Niy said solidly.  
  
Gohan's jaw dropped and his respect rose for Niy instantly. She reminded him so much of Piccolo. She was gruff, harsh, and underneath he could sense that she cared. Suddenly he felt something familiar about her ki.  
  
"Dad, there's something strange about her ki," Gohan said curiously.  
  
Goku's smile dissipated. "I know son, I know. I'll explain it to you later but first I have to get Piccolo and tell him about the training."  
  
"Alright Dad, I understand," Gohan responded, smiling.  
  
Goku slightly smiled and looked at Niy, seemingly asking her a silent question with a glance. And as if answering, she seemed to barely nod her head.  
  
Turning back to Gohan, Goku asked, "Hey Gohan, can you do me a favor and take care of Vegeta for me. I'm going to be instant transmitting and I could do without the extra weight."  
  
"Sure Dad," Gohan said, reaching and throwing Vegeta over his own shorter shoulder.  
  
"Follow me, Gohan. I know a spot where we can train and your dad will meet us there," Niy said taking off into the sky.  
  
Gohan furrowed his eyebrows and followed Niy silently. He knew his dad didn't need watching but he felt guilty not being able to be there for him. Still, he knew when to listen and continued to follow Niy.  
  
* * *  
  
Mia went to charge Piccolo when Goku's figure suddenly appeared in front of her. She jerked to a stop, and her surprise overwhelmed her rage.  
  
"Goku," Piccolo said his name with a hiss, "What are you doing here?"  
  
Goku looked at Piccolo's condition and frowned. "What's going on here Piccolo?"  
  
"I'm training the brat," he snarled.  
  
Goku slightly smiled. "You look like you're the one being trained."  
  
"You want me to train you too, Goku," Piccolo growled angrily. He didn't need this. "I've got plenty of energy left to take care of you."  
  
Goku looked at Mia. The being had lilac skin, long finger and toe nails. She was too skinny, almost malnourished skinny, and she had grey hair and the most crystal blue eyes he had ever seen.  
  
"Her name is Mia, Goku, and Niy left her in my stead."  
  
Goku's eyes widened. He didn't know there was a third. Then again, today was a day for surprises. "Niy has decided to fight against the Emperor. She is with Gohan and they have Vegeta and Rezan.  
  
"Rezan," Piccolo asked. "Is she like Niy?" Goku nodded. Piccolo's eyes narrowed. Great, the other surprise.  
  
"She's like Niy," Goku responded. "I'll explain the rest to you when we get there."  
  
"You're going to take us to Niy?"  
  
Goku looked over into Mia's innocent eyes. "If you'll let me," he responded.  
  
Mia looked down at the ground, thought it over for a moment and nodded her acceptance.  
  
"Good," Goku said. "Now, please place your hand on my shoulder. This will only take a minute and I assure you, it's painless."  
  
Piccolo, grimaced, but let his hand fall on Goku's shoulder. Mia, frowned at Piccolo and glared at him, but Goku seemed to radiate a sense of trust and she found herself reaching for his shoulder.  
  
Putting two fingers to his forehead Goku smiled and said, "Here we-" and disappeared. 


	11. Nothing Else Matters (Part 11)

Niy lowered herself onto the dry sandy island. Nothing else surrounded the island but five hundred miles of deep blue sea. She hoped that would be enough.  
  
"Are we going to train here Niy," Gohan asked politely.  
  
"Yes," Niy answered, "I hope this spot is secluded enough from everything else. We're going to be involved in the most intense training you've ever done, Gohan." Niy looked out at the surf and how each wave seemed to crawl further up the shore. They were a reminder of her survival from drowning, and her stomach knotted with the memory.  
  
"What's wrong Niy?"  
  
"Nothing, kid, nothing," Niy said, changing her focus from the water and to leaning Rezan's limp body against a palm tree trunk. Gohan copied her actions and leaned Vegeta against another tree. Niy smiled, the kid was a fast learner.  
  
The heat of the sun boiled overhead, and Niy felt her muscles stiffen so she began to stretch her arms and neck out, when Goku, Mia, and Piccolo appeared right in front of her.  
  
"Piccolo, what happened," Gohan said frowning as he eyed the Namek's tattered clothing.  
  
"Yeah, well it's nice to see you to," the Namek mumbled, but answered the boy's question. "I've been training her," he growled, jerking a finger toward the big purple skinny thing with crystal blue eyes, really long nails, and grey bat wings.  
  
"Um, hi," Mia said, looking at the ground, totally unused to all the attention. "My name is Mia," she said softly.  
  
"I'm Gohan," Gohan replied solidly. "Where are you from?"  
  
Mia's expression brightened a little at the sound of a cheery voice. "I'm from a planet called Relia where everyone there looks like me but in different colors, and-"  
  
"And how did your training go Mia," Niy interrupted rudely. "I see you've grown up while I was away."  
  
Mia's expression immediately fell. Looking at the ground she muttered, "I don't really want to talk about it."  
  
Piccolo's eyes narrowed at Niy. Who was she to question the status of his pupil? She was his child at the moment and he'd be damned if Niy pressured her into a groveling obedience.  
  
"She did exceptionally well for someone who hasn't been trained before," Piccolo said, crossing his arms and catching Niy's eyes. "However, she still needs further training. She lacks the battle experience and mind-set. But, like you Niy, she has a very strong power, and I wouldn't be surprised that when her training is over she beat in you in a fair fight."  
  
Mia looked up at Piccolo, almost teary-eyed with gratitude and care. But Piccolo refused to look at her and seemed to participate in a staring contest with Niy.  
  
Inside of her mind, Niy was enraged. Mia was her child to look after, her child to teach, to manipulate in to something greater and more deadly than the universe had ever seen. And to suggest Mia would one day overtake her? That was extreme. Niy however held a serious, concentrated expression and replied, "We shall see whether you words have merit Piccolo. The day you have finished training her I will hold you to your words."  
  
Gohan frowned at Niy, but was almost jealous inside. He had never had the chance to take out his fighting masters in a duel! What an excellent challenge.  
  
Goku frowned at both of them. The fighting and generally uneasy moods made them weak, and from what he had heard they would need every last fiber of strength in them to defeat the Emperor.  
  
"There will be a day when we can hold our own tournament, I grant you that," Goku said, "but what's more important right now is defeating the Emperor. We have to start joining together instead of this constant bickering. I'm going to revive Vegeta and Rezan here in a few minutes and then we'll have our hands full, so I will need everyone's cooperation." He scanned the group as he chastised them. Niy and Piccolo refused to look up at him for fear that they would feel that humble feeling they got any other time they looked into his eyes. Mia looked up at him and slightly smiled. Gohan beamed at his dad, full of pride. Rezan and Vegeta, well, they slumped against their palm trees.  
  
"Okay," Goku said, now smiling. "I'm going to give Vegeta and Rezan halves of the last sensu bean I have. If you would Niy, please keep Rezan restrained for as long as you can before we can get some sense into her. Gohan, you back her up. I'm going to try to keep Vegeta at bay and Piccolo; I would appreciate it if you backed me up. Mia you can-"  
  
A bright light flashed overhead before Goku could finish his sentence.  
  
"Is it the Emperor," Gohan shouted above the sudden gust of wind.  
  
"No", Niy yelled back, protectively blocking her face from the little dust tornadoes that popped up, "It can't be, it's too early!"  
  
"I'll go check it out," Mia shouted, using the strength of her great wings to propel her quickly and with a steady grace through the air.  
  
"No, Mia, wait!" Niy shouted for her, but Mia was already to far away to hear Niy's call. She flew after the glowing thing and watched it fall and plummet in a huge splash into the ocean. Not exactly knowing what she was doing, but following her instincts, she folded her wings and dove like a falcon from the air. At the last possible second, she opened her wings to their full surface area and put the brakes on her deathly fast decent. She flapped her wings, hovering above the water and noticed a metal, human-sized capsule bobbing up and down in the waves, but sinking fast. Inside it she saw the battered and bruised form of some living being. She leapt onto it, and using her long fingernails, cut the top glass bubble away from the metal frame. Even though she didn't weigh much, the capsule sank faster under her weight and it began to fill with water. She quickly cut the male form from the straps and lifted him out of the capsule. Using some of her ki, she caused her wings to grow and expand until they were almost twice her height. Even though they were of a reasonable size, Mia grunted under the strain as she flapped into the sky, carrying this man from underneath his shoulders.  
  
As she was making her way back to the island, she heard the purple haired-man mutter, "Run, Mom, run and hide. I can't beat him. He's too strong! Too strong! The Emperor is too strong!" 


	12. Nothing Else Matters (Part 12)

Far above the Z fighters, stars, galaxies, and other planetary systems glittered in an array of sparkles, shimmers, and intertwining colors. In the midst of this godly masterpiece, there was a flaw, something that didn't belong. It was golden and harshly angled on the sides and nonchalantly smoothed on the top and underneath. It hummed a steady toll of spinning blades and its hull reflected back a golden possibility of a reality that could come; a reality that was coated in gold, but hollow underneath. The space around the ship seemed to thin in fear, and the golden ship cut through it smoothly like a knife already layered in a liquid coating of blood.  
  
Inside the ship, the lights were dim, but the tensions were high. Black shadows of people moved with slight breezes back and forth silently, never saying words or questioning orders. The will of the people was the will of the Emperor, and the Emperor was all. Soldiers in golden armor, the same type of gold as on the hull of the ship, glistened in the dim lights as they strode down, patrolling the wide, obsessively ornate halls. Each soldier had a golden ring on his middle finger. They were part of the Emperor's hand. They marched swiftly through the halls, with darting eyes and a lead expression, but there was one hallway that they slowed their stride, and basically tip-toed down. In the middle of this hallway was a great metal door and inside that door was a room of gold, a room of thought, of faith, of inspiration, and of dictatorship. It was the Emperor's quarters.  
  
Inside, two green eyes pierced the darkness and watched through a plexiglass-like wall at the space that surrounded him. The green eyes shriveled in frustration, but then steadily grew wider again as he forced himself to relax. With three well-muscled darkly tanned fingers the Emperor delicately swirled a wine glass in his hand, but it looked more like he was trying to pinch the glass than hold it. The dark red violet of wine swirled with a whisper of sweetness against the glass as the muscles in the fingers tensed and suddenly pulsed with a swelling strength, shattering the glass and spilling the intoxicating liquid onto the floor. The pieces of glass sliced through the silence like glass bells ringing in a rainstorm.  
  
A door creaked open and a small willowy shadow into the room. "Is everything alright, Holy One?"  
  
The green eyes focused onto the inferior form and the pupils became slits. "I am uncertain that what I am doing is the right thing," a solid bass voice rumbled. "Show me what you see in me."  
  
The tiny figure approached the Emperor, kneeling before His Greatness. "You are my reason for breathing, my soul, my ideals," the small voice whispered. "You are my dreams, my hopes, and my futures. You are strong, a leader, a thinker, a father. You are my valor, my honor, and my pride."  
  
The Emperor's eyes teared, and he shut them for a moment. "Then I am on the right path. I have not fallen from my ultimate goal." The Emperor's eyes opened and he found the tiny shadow again. "You have pleased me greatly, child. Name anything you want and it shall be yours."  
  
The lowly figure's voice wavered with sobs of joy. "The only thing I want, Great One, is to know that when I die, that I have pleased you."  
  
"So be it," The Emperor said, and before the shadow could blink, decapitated him with one smooth, deadly fast stroke of his sword. "May you rest, knowing you have pleased me well." As the blood from the headless corpse stained the stone, the Emperor reached for another glass, poured himself some wine and sighed in relief after he downed the entire glass.  
  
"You were meant for me," he said, talking to the stars in his sights, "And soon, very soon, you will all be mine." 


	13. Nothing Else Matters (Part 13)

Wow, my own writing scares me sometimes. I know a lot of Dragonball Z is random humor, but I see a lot of that in fanfiction already, so I tend to write serious pieces. Please review my works, I don't write messages on top of my chapters because sometimes I feel that disturbs the mood of the writing, so this is my one big author's note. I know that a lot of this story fits into the horror category, so tell me what you hink and if you like it or not. Feel better because some smut is heading its way. eventually. I'll try to squeeze some into the next story for all you "excitable" readers. I like fighting, but it gets rather redundant after a while (need I bother to mention the Frieza saga?) . If you have any questions about the storyline, the history of characters, my thoughts/ideas, their origins, or how this whole timeline fits into the DBZ mainframe, then e-mail me at niyrocks@msn.com . If you don't have any questions, then e-mail me for the hell of it. I always enjoy randomness. Anyhoo, next on DBZK (Dragonball Z: the Killing) is a lot of training, blood, and sweat. Interesting partnerships are taking place and Goku begins to wonder how the hell he fits into things. Maybe some backgrounds will be revealed, but I'm going to try to conclude this 'Emperor Saga' with a bang. Someone you've come to know and love will die, but no hints here. :::: grins evilly ::: Yeah, I am a bitch. Deal. The new story will be called "The God That Failed" so look for its arrival, it will be coming soon. Oh! I almost forgot! Beneath this author's note are the lyrics to the song Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, which the title of this story is based off of. If you have any questions as to how this relates to the story (and you're sick of scratching your head) e-mail me, I'll be happy to explain things to you. Until later, loving fanz!  
  
Niyrocks  
  
"Nothing Else Matters"  
  
By: Metallica  
  
So close no matter how far  
  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
  
Forever trusting who we are  
  
And nothing else matters  
  
Never opened myself this way  
  
Life is ours, we live it our way  
  
All these words I don't just say  
  
And nothing else matters  
  
  
  
Trust I seek and I find in you  
  
Every day for us something new  
  
Open mind for a different view  
  
And nothing else matters  
  
Never cared for what they do  
  
Never cared for what they know  
  
But I know  
  
  
  
So close no matter how far  
  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
  
Forever trusting who we are  
  
And nothing else matters  
  
Never cared for what they do  
  
Never cared for what they know  
  
But I know  
  
  
  
Never opened myself this way  
  
Life is ours, we live it our way  
  
All these words I don't just say  
  
And nothing else matters  
  
  
  
Trust I seek and I find in you  
  
Every day for us something new  
  
Open mind for a different view  
  
And nothing else matters  
  
Never cared for what they say  
  
Never cared for games they play  
  
Never cared for what the do  
  
Never cared for what they know  
  
And I know  
  
  
  
So close no matter how far  
  
Couldn't be much more from the heart  
  
Forever trusting who we are  
  
And nothing else matters 


End file.
